Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Breaking News: Murder Victims Identified, 8 Foreigners Held

KUALA LUMPUR: The Indonesian woman whose dismembered body was found at the Astaria Apartments in Taman Kosas last week has been identified as Suramlah Nidin.
In follow-up operations, police have arrested eight Bangladeshi workers and seized a knife from one of the suspects.

It is now understood that one of the suspects was believed to have been romantically linked with Suramlah.

The Indonesian Embassy here revealed the woman's identity yesterday after conducting fingerprint checks against their records.

The embassy's Information, Social and Cultural Affairs Minister counselor Suryana Sastradiredja told the New Straits Times that their Rukun Tetangga and Rukun Warga is Indonesia's classification of household and local communities that comprised a village.

Police records here showed that Suramlah was deported in 2008 after being arrested in Kajang for not having proper identification papers. How and when she returned to Malaysia after that is still being investigated by the police.

The authorities believe that the body of the 5-year-old boy, also found in the apartment unit, was that of Suramlah's son. They, however, could not provide his name.

"We hope police will be able to establish the motive for the murders and solve the case soon. We will provide whatever help necessary," Suryana said.

Earlier yesterday, Selangor police chief Datuk Tun Hisan Tun Hamzah said Suramlah was reported missing on July 29 and her dismembered remains and her son's body, were found in an abandoned unit on the fifth floor at the Chryssa block on Aug 3.

The missing person's report was lodged by Suramlah's husband, a 29-year-old Sabahan who married her in 2005. He was interviewed by police on Monday after identifying his wife and son's remains.

Tun Hisan said police found a hammer in the abandoned unit which was believed to be the murder weapon.

The eight Bangladeshis, aged between 26 and 38, have been remanded until Aug 13 to facilitate investigations.